


Somewhere That's Green

by MixterGlacia



Series: Daydream Denial [1]
Category: Starbound (Video Game)
Genre: Floran (Starbound), Glitch (Starbound), Hylotl (Starbound), Multi, Pre-Relationship, Racism, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-24
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-06-10 13:04:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6957601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MixterGlacia/pseuds/MixterGlacia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jinyu, like most Hylotl, has a strong dislike of Floran. When one invited him to a "party", he should have known better than to trust them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Somewhere That's Green

**Author's Note:**

> Reposting from Tumblr. So I've been stoked for the Starbound story update, and wanted to do something with my OC's story.

Jinyu prided himself on being a reasonable fellow. He’d been through many situations in his schooling to become certified as a Protector and had even  ~~begrudgingly~~ happily accepted a Glitch as part of his crew. The Hylotl wasn’t training to be someone that took odd jobs around the world. He was going to help protect the future by preserving the past. Archaeology was his true passion. 

Still, he did have to take a few “quests” in order to further his research (and funding.) and he would do peasant work if it meant a shiny new ship upgrade. Sometimes he would get into scraps, as is normal for Protectors. Sometimes he’d have to go find simple things for poor souls that couldn’t do it themselves. All in all it was alright.

Up until this particular job.

He’d been browsing through one of the shops in the Outpost, when he was approached by a Floran. She smiled….sweetly? (he was never good at reading the beasts expressions.) Then she asked him to attend a party she’d heard about. Jinyu said he’d consider it and she left him to his shopping.

He’d asked Brassties if they thought it was a good idea to take such a strange request and the Glitch had not so subtly hinted that their commanding officer needed to gain favor with the Florans, seeing as he was a Protector. It was his duty to be on at least speaking terms with all kinds.

* * *

 

It seemed normal enough when he beamed down to the given location. It was a bit of a walk before he ran into dozens of Floran, all seemingly excited. They were mentioning a hunt but this was par for the course with them. He was exploring and found himself drawn to a peculiar pit near the end of the room. As he turned to move on he was shoved into the pit. 

He splashed down into a deep pool of water lined with so many bones. He knew he’d been set up. His personal teleporter refused to cooperate. It couldn’t get worse. 

As gracefully as he could, Jinyu dragged himself out of the water, shaking the water from his robes. He tried to tunnel out with his matter manipulator but it wouldn’t respond. So he had no choice but to continue forward and hope he wouldn’t become the dinner for this “dinner party”.

The path was musty and damp, sickly green in colour. Then there was something that caught his eyes as it was not green for the most part. Investigating he found it to be a tiny Floran with vibrant foliage. She grinned up at him.

“Well this is a-” The introduction was cut short by a scrabbling sound followed by a frail looking Floran that fell from an impossibly tiny hole in the roof of the cavern.

“Wait wait!” Shouted the intruder. “Hunt Masster N-Nuru, there’ss been a misstake!”

“How did you get in here sprout? You know you can’t handle this yet.” Nuru cocked her head, smirking a little. The difference in their accents was startling to say the least.

“Doessn’t matter, Masster!” He was panting a bit, still half kneeling on the floor. He Looked up pitifully at Jinyu. “Thiss man wass tricked! I came to warn him but-” The leaves around the Floran’s neck drooped a bit.

“It’s too late sprout. The hunt must begin.” She turned to look at the Hylotl, shrugging a bit. “If you want to escape, you must fight your way through the tunnels.” Nuru paused. “Like a Floran. Think you can manage that, Fancy Fins?”

“…If I must.” Jinyu huffed. This is why he didn’t work with Floran.

* * *

 

It took hours but finally they had done it. Nuru and the nameless sprout had assisted (mostly Nuru) him in destroying the fleshy abomination that guarded the exit and he was ready to dash for the teleporter so he could go and ask that woman what she was thinking, sending him into a trap like that.

“Pleasse wait!” 

Jinyu looked over his shoulder to see the thin fellow trotting to catch up with him. When he was a yard or two away, Jinyu held up a hand.

“I am not accepting jo-”

“No no, not assking about work!” The little thing was frustrated. “Pleasse, you are a Protector yess?”

“Indeed I am. Bu-”

“I need you to take me with you.” He said with all the seriousness he could muster. Which was promptly met with light laughter.

“You’re clearly out of your mind Floran, why should I even consider letting you -near- my ship?” He was beyond caring about being kind to the brutes that had designed this horrible maze and even less willing to take one home with him.

“Becausse I want to join the Protectorss!”

“Floran don’t mix well with civilized folk.” He remarked.

A strange brownish green tint spread across the other’s face.

“I’m not the one being racisst here!”

Jinyu’s fin fluttered down, startled by the fact that the Floran even knew the term, let alone using it correctly. The pause was enough for the little one to continue.

“I’ve been teaching mysself to read! I want to help people! But I have to get out of here firsst!” He plead, eyes welling with sap-like tears. “You’re the firsst chance I’ve had in yearss, I jusst need to get to the academy. You don’t have to do anything but take me there! Promisse!”

“What’s stopping you from attacking me the moment I let you on board?” Jinyu questioned. He edged towards the teleport pad.

“If I wanted to do that, I would have done it in the tunnelss. Sshoved you onto sspikess.” He strode forward, then held out two slim knives. “If you want to be ssure, you can take my weaponss.”

The Hylotl was stunned. This Floran was clearly willing to do anything to get out. He imagined that it was probably not easy for a Floran to pursue education. Hesitantly, he took the blades from the other, stowing them in his subspace pocket. Giving the sprout one more look, he sighed.

“Fine. But you put one root out of line and I will eject you out of the air lock.”

The Floran nodded excitedly, bowing clumsily and chirruping something that sounded like ‘thank you’ many times.

“Do sprouts have names yet?” He inquired, rigging the warp pad for his return.

“Uhm…I’m full grown actually…But I don’t have a name yet.”

“You’ll need one to get into the academy. You’ll go by Lao-Pan. Got it?”

“Yess! I like that name!”

Jinyu couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t going to be cut and dry like Lao-Pan was thinking it would be.


End file.
